Stronger together in ICT: Europe to pool
private, national and EU research efforts in order to become more
competitive

For the first time ever, the European Union is
changing the method of financing key technological research by launching Joint
Technology Initiatives (JTIs). The idea for JTIs came from the European
Commission and was supported by EU Heads of State and Government at their recent
informal summit in Lahti (Finland). JTIs will pool the resources of private
industry, EU and national programmes to pursue ambitious common research
objectives. The first JTI to be launched in early 2007 will be ARTEMIS. The
ARTEMIS JTI will steer Europe's research in embedded computing systems, which
are increasingly essential for many key industrial sectors. This initiative
will act as a beacon for further such initiatives to follow. Industrial leaders
and national and EU research experts are meeting today in Helsinki to further
discuss this new method of European research funding.

"I have said repeatedly that Europe needs to pool resources and increase
its research investment in information and communications technologies,"
said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media.
"ARTEMIS is already living proof of how the main stakeholders in Europe can
work together, laying the foundations for a prosperous and competitive future.
Having shown the way in the key field of embedded systems, other such
initiatives must soon follow if Europe is to catch up with competing nations and
truly build its information society of growth and jobs."

In the coming years, JTIs are expected to become an important means to boost
Europe's innovative capacity. They will allow the most interested industry
partners and Member States to align their investment with those of the European
Union around common goals and agendas. Under Article 171 of the Treaty, JTIs can
be established as independent legal entities that pursue industry-driven
research agendas. They can receive and manage funding from any source, including
national, and Community funding and they remain open for other partners –
public or private – to join in.

As an open and pioneering model for public-private partnership, JTIs are
expected to stimulate European research investment and to build critical mass by
uniting currently fragmented efforts, while ensuring effective and efficient
programme management.

The ARTEMIS initiative will sustain Europe’s world lead in embedded
systems. European industry's own research investment in this field is estimated
at around €15-20 billion per year. Today nearly 50% of the 100 biggest
European companies invest in embedded systems research and most of the top 25
European research spenders rely on embedded systems for their products and
services. As the essential building blocks for future applications in all
industries, maintaining this lead will be vital to increased productivity and
jobs and will also have strong societal benefits.

The budget of the ARTEMIS initiative is expected to be around 3 billion
EUR over seven years, of which more than 50% would come from industry and the
rest would be financed by the EU Member States and Associated States involved,
and by the Commission. It is expected that the proposed mechanism will leverage
7 euros of overall R&D effort for every Euro of Community contribution.

ARTEMIS was established in June 2004 as a European Technology Platform (see
IP/04/804
and MEMO/06/331)
which to date comprises 17 major European companies, including Philips, Nokia,
Thales, Daimler Chrysler and ST Microelectronics. Some 14 European governments
have also expressed their willingness to join in the planned ARTEMIS joint
technology initiative. This will remain open to all EU Members States and other
partners who want to join at later stage. At a meeting in Helsinki today,
European industries and other R&D actors active in the field have continued
their efforts to set up a formal industry association for participating in the
joint initiative, which is expected to be operational in 2008.

Another JTI on nanoelectronics (ENIAC) is also being prepared.

Background:

The digitisation and networking of consumer electronic devices, home
appliances, entertainment and the convergence of PCs and communications, is
already giving rise to a new breed of intelligent consumer electronic devices.
For example, future digital TVs will allow you to access all sorts of content
such as digital photos or stored movies as well as the internet or games.
Linking up embedded systems provides scope for building “collective
intelligence” that in turn can achieve new levels of comfort, safety and
productivity in all areas, from the individual to industrial environments.

Joint Technology Initiatives help to achieve critical mass and synergies in
research, and help to avoid the duplication and wastage that may otherwise occur
though many separate initiatives running in parallel in different Member States
and consortia. These initiatives can be established on the basis of Article 171
of the Treaty. This allows the Commission to set up joint undertakings –
independent legal entities that can receive funding from any source and are open
to all - for the efficient execution of Community R&D programmes.

For further information about the €9 billion to be injected into
European ICT research, see IP/06/1590.